Endless Seas of Clouds
by Jason Thompson
Summary: Xander and Tara spend a day cloud watching...


Endless Seas of Clouds  
A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Fanfiction Story  
Author: Jason Thompson  
Pilamsega@tir.com  
October 15, 2000  
  
Disclaimer:Once upon a time there was a guy he wrote a story with characters and settings   
he didn't own, but he put a disclaimer on his story and that made it a little less illegal. BTVS and   
Angel are owned by Joss, Fox, Mutant Enemy, and the WB. I don't own anything except the   
situation characters are in.   
  
Category:Tara/Xander. Jesse/Xander friendship. AU where Tara has her Sweetie.  
  
Spoilers:General season 4&5  
  
Warnings:  
  
Summary:Xander remembers a special day, and shows Tara his favorite thing about his new   
apartment.   
  
Rating:PG-13, For sexual situations, implied nudity and cloud watching.   
  
Distribution:Ask First.   
  
Notes:Inspired by Michigan's gray skies. Also an attempt at answer the B/A improv #1   
October 13 - October 27; vanilla, ocean, cotton, sympathy.  
  
Dedication:Dedicated to Bri, Mary, Duchess, Dale, Nate, Stone Cold, and Aslan, who have   
allowed me to bounce my ideas off them, and Krac, cause she has the evil bunny slippers. And to   
the other Tara/Xander shippers, stay the course.  
  
Endless Seas of Clouds  
  
Tara rolled towards Xander's side of the bed and groped for him still mostly asleep until she felt   
only rumpled cotton sheets. Her eyes drifted open and confirmed her suspicions, Xander was   
definitely not in bed. She sighed and stretched, still comfortably encased in Xander's bed clothes.   
She snuggled briefly before deciding that the bed just wasn't as fun without Xander in it with her.   
She slid out of the bed and padded out of the bedroom, not bothering with a robe or shirt. The   
only person who'd see her naked would be the man who loved to see her naked anyway.   
  
She walked out into the living room and found Xander looking out of the large window from the   
couch. Looking out of the window, she saw a cloud covered, gray sky. It was rather dismal. She   
looked to Xander, expecting to see a matching look on his face. A sky like that would suck the   
life out of people. But to her surprise, she found his lop sided grin planted firmly on his lips and   
his eyes bright and happy.  
  
Tara loved Xander's eyes, Willow had once told her when she first started dating Xander, that   
Xander was something of a mystery unless you learned to read his eyes. Xander's eyes told you   
exactly how he felt, sometimes Tara just liked to sit with him or snuggle up to him and look into   
those deep dark pools and bask in the warmth and affection she saw there.  
  
She crossed the room quietly, as she did, Xander noticed her and smiled, holding his arms open   
for her. Tara smiled and sat between his legs, feeling his arms wrap around her and hold her   
tightly against his chest. She felt his lips press against the top of her head, ushering a sigh from   
her. "Morning Tara."  
  
"Morning Alex." She smiled, she was the only one allowed to call him Alex. Xander didn't like   
it, until she explained that when he let her call him Alex it made her feel special, almost like they   
were sharing a secret. Xander had grown to like it. "I felt a little abandoned." She said teasingly.  
  
She giggled when Xander nuzzled into her throat, "Sorry, its just today's kind of a special day…   
I like your shampoo, Vanilla?"  
  
The touch of sadness in his voice and sudden change of topic were not missed by Tara. "Hey,   
what's wrong?" Tara ran her hand over Xander's arms in a sympathetic manner. Xander didn't   
say anything, and Tara was quickly becoming worried, "Alex?"  
  
She heard and felt Xander sigh sadly, "Did I ever tell you about my friend Jesse?"  
  
Tara nodded, "Some, some stories. I know he was friends with you and Willow for most of your   
childhood… and I know he died a couple of years ago, but you never told me what happened."  
  
They sat in silence for a while before Xander began. "Today would've been Jesse's twentieth   
birthday… When I was a kid, I had only one friend, Willow. I met Jesse when I was eight. His   
family had bought and rebuilt a house that burned down the year before on Willow's and My   
block, and Jesse's family moved in. Well, Willow and I went over there the first day, and became   
friends with Jesse. Well, Willow and I found out that Jesse's dad was a big time investor, made   
all sorts of money on Apple computers and later Microsoft. Well, they had a beach house up near   
San Francisco. It became tradition, every August, just before school started back up, Jesse's   
family would take Willow and I up to their beach house." Xander laughed, "I had such a crush on   
his older sister, she was four years older…"  
  
Tara turned her head and looked at him in an amused manner, "Should I be jealous?"  
  
Xander smirked, "No, she's married to some broker now, or so Willow told me. Anyway, our last   
time up there was just before our sophomore year, when Buffy came to Sunnydale. Lots of stuff   
happened that summer, Jesse's mom taught me and Jesse how to drive. Jesse told me he had a   
crush on Willow, but what I really remember, was one morning. I came out on the back porch,   
and the sky over the ocean was like this. It was fantastic looking, just, endless clouds against   
endless water. Well I saw his sister sitting on the bench, I froze. Typical fifteen year old fear and   
anxiety. She smiled and waved me over, and she told me that the most beautiful thing in the   
world is a cloud filled sky, much better looking than a blue cloudless sky."  
  
Tara smiled at the far away look in Xander's eyes. "What happened next?"  
  
Xander shrugged, "Then she made my adolescent fantasy come true, she started talking about   
how romantic the sky was like this. I nodded and said I could see it. She turned to me then   
leaned over and kissed me on the lips. Nothing earth shattering, but it was my first kiss with a   
girl and it was the first girl I ever fantasized about, so you can imagine my shock and surprise.   
She pulled back and said that she always thought I was kinda cute for a kid, then went back to her   
room. While I was floored."  
  
Tara chuckled and said, "I'll bet."  
  
Xander smiled, but it quickly decayed and his eyes became dark. "A couple of weeks later, my   
world was turned upside down by one Buffy Summers coming into my life. I mean I don't blame   
her, it wasn't her fault, but, sometimes I wonder, if I hadn't have met Buffy, maybe Darla wouldn't   
have turned Jesse…"  
  
Tara turned in Xander's arms and slid up his chest, "Alex… You can't blame yourself either. You   
lived fifteen years on the Hellmouth without suffering because of it, you've lived fighting against   
it for four. You've been pretty lucky if you ask me."  
  
Xander nodded, then smiled, "It wouldn't have anything to do with you that I'm so lucky, would   
it?"  
  
Tara did her imitation of Xander's lop sided grin and said, "Maybe…"  
  
Xander chuckled, they sat silently for a while before Xander kissed her gently. "I just might be in   
love with you Tara."  
  
Tara smiled, "Good, cause it's possible that I love you too." Tara then turned back around and got   
comfortable. She looked out at the sky, and enjoyed the beauty of the endless seas of clouds   
before her.  
  
--The End--  



End file.
